Sunday shopping at Fragrance & Art

2018 should be my non buying perfume year expect from a few bottles. These bottles are already (almost) consumed. In the mailbox today Fragrance & Art  announced there is a 50% Wintersale on some brands. Even if very priceworthy this Sunday became quite expensive as I bought the following frags:

Picture: Cendres de Thé in the old bottle
Photo: PR Phaedon (c)

Cendres de Thé Phaedon (old bottle): This is a fragrance in the style of Hermès Un Jardin après la Mousson but CdT is more minimalistic and dry in style.

Photo: PR Amorvero (c)

Amorvero (Amorvero): This is a great retrostyled warm and elegant floraloriental with a warm floral heart of tubereuse, jasmin and rose. I have sampled the Edt. which is very good, now I couldn't resist buying the Edp which I hope is even better.

Picture: L'Eau d'Ambre Extreme in the old bottle
Photo: PR L'Artisan Parfumeur (c)

L'Eau d'Ambre Extreme (L'Artisan Parfumeur) This is a classic amber which is needed in a wellcurated fragrance wardrobe. Blind buy as I havn't tested the Extreme-version.

Photo: PR Coquillete (c)

Sumatera (Coquillete): A special, soft, dry patchouli with discrete flowers and cinnamon. A very comforting and easy to wear.

Photo: PR Coquillete (c)

Tan-Tan (Coquillete): Back up bottle for Mr Parfumista as he really likes the intriguing, green, tart figgyness of Tan-Tan. One of the very best fig frags imho.

Other good options in the sale are for example Coquillete Sulmona, Parfum d'Empire  3Fleurs, Iskander and Yuzu Fou, several fragrances from L'Artisan Parfumeur among them Al Oudh, Noir Exquis,  Dzongkha, Dzing,  Mon Numero 10 and Patchouli Patch.

Ramon Monegal - Very Private

Picture: Beneath the Lilac at Maurecourt,
Painting by Berthe Morisot, 1874,
Wikiart

Very Private is an exclusive composition created by Ramon Monegal for Bergdorf Goodman, New York. The fragrance is said to capture the hypnotic and magical impression of the Bergdorf Goodman flagship store as well as Central Park in springtime.
Very Private starts with a sunny burst of what I percieve as yellow-green fruity notes, accompanied by fizzy peppery notes. There is also a hint of alcohol in the beginning, the impression of a fruit cocktail. Soon also rose and a note that reminds me of melon appears. the fizzy, fruity first stages of the perfume reminds me of another joyful Ramon Monegal - Lovely Day. Lovely Day and Very Private also have some common notes; rose and licorice and I can also smell a similarity also in whole accords of the fragrances even if Lovely Day is more peppery and fresher where Very Private is more flowery with a golden, warm, honeyed sweetness. The melonnote is of the Galia varity, not watermelon. The lilacnote, to my nose, is recognizable in the second part of the dry down and I have to smell very close to really sort it out from the seamless blended fruity-flowery mix. The basenotes are a pleasant musky mix with oak moss and licorice adding some dept and contrasting darkness to the this bright and happy fragrance.



Picture: Very Private in its white cap,
 inkwell bottle
Photo: PR Ramon Monegal (c)

Very Private I can imagine (the test is done in cold springweather) is a durable fragrance for warm, summerdays. Also suitable for spring and wearable in most occassions, very good to cheer up in the office. Perfumesnons should not fear away as this is a genuine fruity-floral fragrance, it's not the sickingly artificial smelling sweet fruity-floral, Very Private smells almost natural in its interpreation of florals and frutis. Sílage is medium and longevity good, for a day.

Those who like Hermès Un Jardin apres la Mousson, Ramon Monegal Kiss My Name (which is in a similar style as Lovely Day) and Guerlain Idylle Duet Jasmin-Lilas will probably also like Very Private.

Rating: 3+

Notes: Citrus, fruity notes, tea rose, violet, lilac, orange blossom, oak moss, licorice, vanilla, musk

Ramón Monegal - Lovely Day

Picture: A Lovely summerday

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

To me the somehow dry frutiy-floral of Ramón Monegal  Lovely Day starts like a gentler and less distinctive version of Hermès Un Jardin apres la Mousson. I perceive a melon - peppery ackord that is not as tough and rough as in UJalM. As there is no melon mentioned among the notes I suspect that the black currant gives this effect. There is also no pepper among the ingredients but cedar often gives a peppery effect. Lovely Day developes the light, I image it as white pepper, peppery note continues and the melon-like note seems to go more like black curranrt. As this occurs a flowery element also becomes more evident. The flowers i somehow pink-bubbelgummy-powdery, just as an unchewed pink piece of bubblegum. The sweetness is sort of subdued, it is not sickly sweet and Lovely Day gives me the impression of a grown up almost frutiy floral. After a while in the developement of the middlenotes a coca powdery suede like iris note with light hints of the swedish paperglue "Björnklister" appears.This accord is similar to the irisinterpretation in Histoires de Parfums Tubereuse 1 Capricieuse and traces of the iris from Impossible Iris is also recognisable.  The whole blend is resting on a woody base that is well intergrated in hte blend but becomes increasingly evident as the basenotes develops. Despite just cedarwood is mentioned among the ingredients I also  percieve a woody note similar to a light oud.  The woody base gives a fine contrast and substance to Lovely Day.

Lovely Day is, as the name indicates, a happy fragrance that wears well during a warm summerday, both for office and as with most of the Ramón Monegal fragrances, for elegant casual wear. Despite Lovely Day seems a bit indefinite with its twists of  such different fragrances as Un Jardin apres la Mousson and Tubereuse 1 it's a fragrance that is easy to wear in different situations. The type of fragrance to choose for the days when I haven't got any idea of what to wear.

Rating: 4

Notes: Jasmine, rose, black licorice, iris, cedar, black currant

Neela Vermeire Creations - Bombay Bling

Picture: Different views from Mumbai (Bombay),

Photo: Permission CC-BY-SA-2.0, Wikimedia commons, some rights reserved.

Neela Vermeire Creations first three fragrances composed by the hyper-productive nose Bertrand Duchaufour, are three oriental olfactory gems compund by (as I perceive it and have read elsewhere) very fine ingredients. Bombay Bling is one of them and the one that I thought would be the less interesting of the three, the other are the spicy-woody Trayeé and the rosy Mohur. But sniffing from the bottles, I have bought the discoveryset of 3x10 ml which I really recommend, the one that caught my attention at first was Bombay Bling. Bombay Bling will capture the essence of the modern India.

Bombay Bling is the best fruity fragrance that I have experienced so far. There is not the artificial-chemical-sweet fruitiness, this is ripe, spicy, sturdy, "earthy/stone" fruits as melon (but not the calone-note) mango, litchi, embedded in subdued tropical flowers. Caradmom is present during the whole developement of the scent. The base there is a well balanced sandalwoody-vanilla underscored by gentle tobacco leaves. The whole composition is well blended, balanced and interesting during it's whole dry down. The first time I sampled Bombay Bling it almost vanished, as my skin was eaten the scent. But subsequent attempts proved that with a higher dose Bombay Bling is almost perfect.

Even if not very similar to Bombay Bling gives me associations to Missoni by Missoni, the dark sweet fruity notes,  the same with Casmir by Chopard but that one is more oriental ans sweeter. An airy, aquatic version of the theme is Hermès Un Jardin apres la Mousson where the cardamom and the melon are the common denominators. Calé Tepidarium also, even if citrusladen and sharper, have traces of the special Bombay Bling fruitiness but without the spiciness.

Bombay Bling is a extremly comfortable fruity-spicy oriental, wearable at most occasions, except for sport. I can image it will be just perfect to wear during a warm summer evening.

Rating: 5

Notes: Cardamom, caraway, labdanum, litchi, mango, black currant, jasmine, gardenia, tuberose, ylang-ylang, frangipani, rose, patchouli, cedar- and sandal wood, other woody notes, tobacco, vanilla.